Sterling, 26, owns a perfect professional record of 12-0, including
four straight wins since joining the UFC in February 2014. The New
Yorker was offered a new deal prior to the final fight on his
contract, a Dec. 10 clash with Johnny
Eduardo which saw Sterling submit the Brazilian veteran in
round two.

Teasing his announcement with the possibilities that he had signed
with Bellator
MMA or
World Series of Fighting, Sterling said he ultimately chose the
UFC’s new offer because of unspecified incentives and the power of
the company’s brand.

“The contract was a lot more lucrative than the original offer,”
Sterling said. “In terms of the upfront money and the backend
money, in terms of becoming a champion and things like that, there
was a lot more to offer with [UFC].

“Ultimately, there’s a whole bunch of different things that go into
it: the marketing, the publicity, of course. You can’t really put a
value on the UFC name... You go out there and say ‘I fight for the
UFC,’ they know exactly what that is.”